Healthcare Career Blog, Physician Blogs

Candidate Direct Unveils New Physician Resources Page

Author Healthcare Career Blogger | 21.08.2009 | Category Anesthesiology jobs, Board Certification, Education, Healthcare Career Blog, Licenses, Locum Tenens, Medical Students, Medical doctor jobs, OB/GYN physician jobs, Physician CV, Physicians, Pre-Med Students, Retired Physician, jobs

Whether you are a medical student just starting your physician career or an established physician looking for a change, navigating the physician job market can be a daunting and confusing task; however, leading staffing agency Candidate Direct’s new physician resources page is geared to help both new and experienced doctors stay current on medical issues, find the dream jobs they deserve, and transition smoothly into their new employment.

The site boasts up-to-date information on their most recent locum tenens and permanent job postings and links to full lists of employment opportunities. New to the site is the “Design-a-Job” feature, which allows you to send specifications for your ideal job directly to Candidate Direct staffing agents to get started in your job search immediately. If you’re new to the physician job market, check out advice on how to write a physician CV and view samples of CVs for all levels of experience.

Once you’ve found that job you’re dreaming of, the physician resources page offers a number of links to help ease your transition. Learn about moving and shipping companies, find city guides to help you learn more about your new location, and get transportation information to make your travel go smoothly as you move into your new physician career.

Not looking to get into the job market? There is still plenty of valuable information to help all physicians stay up-to-date on happenings in the medical world. Resources include the Mayo Clinic Medical News site, KevinMD’s award winning blog, social networking sites for physicians, and medical humor from the New Yorker. Links to physician credentialing associations can offer networking and professional development opportunities for physicians of all experience levels. Finally, resources for your financial health and retirement planning finish off the site, making it one-stop shopping for all of your professional needs.

No matter where you are in your physician career, Candidate Direct’s physician resources page has something to help enhance your future in the medical profession.

Visit Candidate Direct or Apply Online today to start working with your recruiter.

Free from Medical School Debt?

Author Healthcare Career Blogger | 11.08.2009 | Category Education, Family Medicine, Healthcare Career Blog, Locum Tenens, Medical Student Loans, Medical Students, Medical doctor jobs, Physician Career Path, Physicians, Pre-Med Students

CNN’s recent article “Free Medical School for 40 Lucky Students” must have had premedical students salivating. The article celebrates the University of Central Florida Medical School, which opened its doors at the beginning of August, for offering free tuition to all 40 members of its inaugural class. Whether this will become the status quo at UCF or whether it is just a one-time deal to entice students to take a risk on a new medical school, is anyone’s guess, but the fact remains that this is “the first time that an entire class will go through medical school completely debt free.”

Dr. Deborah German, dean of the new medical school, says, “We’re giving our students the opportunity to come get a medical education free from debt so that they can pursue their passion.” German here is referring to two passions: 1) the students’ passion for medicine, in general, and 2) their passion for particular fields and specialties.

The astronomical cost of a medical education has two unintended consequences. First, it hinders qualified and passionate students of modest financial backgrounds from pursuing careers in medicine. Over 60% of medical students come from families in the top 20% of the annual income bracket, and a recent survey conducted by the AAMC cites cost of medical school attendance as the number one reason qualified minority students choose not pursue a medical career. Secondly, it deters students from going into less lucrative specialties, like internal and family medicine, and from working in under-served areas where they may not be paid as much. It is easy to accuse a physician of greed when he or she chooses a specialty based primarily on financial gain, but it’s not quite that simple. When a young physician is looking at $200,000 of debt, how can he or she afford not to consider salary a primary factor when making career choices? If students could come out of medical school debt-free, they could, in turn, have the freedom to practice whatever type of medicine they choose without the burden of loan payments hanging on their shoulders.

So, what does UCF’s decision mean for the rest of us? If this was simply a one-year lucky break for these 40 students, it could mean very little to the rest of the county. But, if UCF can set a precedent for medical schools and for the government to offer greater financial incentives for medical students, it could be the beginning of a new model of medical education.

Physicians Debate Healthcare Reform

Author Healthcare Career Blogger | 05.08.2009 | Category Physicians, healthcare reform

That the current state of the U.S. healthcare system is a problem, few will deny. The United States, which spends more money per capita on healthcare than any other country in the world, found itself a disappointing #37 on the World Health Organization’s 2000 rankings of world health systems. But the question remains: what can be done about it? And thus, the debate ensues.

As politicians debate President Obama’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, health professionals, as well, have a wide range of criticisms of the proposal. Some argue that the plan is nothing more than socialized medicine, while others push more to the left for a single-payer system.

The American Medical Association (AMA) announced its support of the healthcare bill this summer, stating that “without a bill that can pass the House, there will be no health reform this year.” The AMA recognizes that the plan is not perfect (the bill does not, for example, do enough to protect doctors from crippling malpractice suits), but it lauds the bill for its attempt to provide health coverage to all Americans regardless of age, financial status, or pre-existing conditions.

The AMA has since faced backlash, however, from the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, which has accused the AMA of selling out and has urged physicians to leave the country’s largest medical association. According to the AAPS, the current bill will result in longer patient lines and substandard care as doctors become “servants to the state, insurance companies, [and] hospitals.” Their argument, and the arguments of many who consider the plan to be socialized medicine, is that physicians will lose their autonomy and will be forced to provide less medical care for less money.

Advocates of a single-payer system, like Physicians for a National Health Program, refute this claim simply by saying, “What autonomy?” Physicians today are often caught in a maze of insurance company restrictions that impede their patient care. Supporters of the single-payer system blame the current system for the lack of doctor-patient relationships; as patients are forced to shift insurance companies, they are often also forced to change physicians, ultimately leading to deterioration in primary care. A single-payer system, they claim, would allow doctors to focus entirely on patient care without having to circumnavigate the insurance companies’ restrictions.

No proposed plan is going to be an immediate panacea to the myriad problems with the healthcare system, and no plan will ever be embraced by all physicians, but few can deny that not since FDR’s New Deal has healthcare reform seemed so close.

More Related links
Read the bill text - pdf
Read the bill text (html format)
Reform Bills Still Reward Quantity over Quality

Medical Students Weigh in on Healthcare Reform

Author Healthcare Career Blogger | 03.08.2009 | Category Medical Students, Medical doctor jobs, Physician Career Path, Physician Shortage, Physicians, Pre-Med Students, Video, healthcare reform

Like the doctors they aspire to be, medical students are not in total agreement on an ideal healthcare reform proposal. Many worry about the effect that reform will have on their chosen profession, others feel skeptically optimistic about the current bill, while still others feel that President Obama’s proposal is not enough.

A major personal concern of many medical and pre-medical students stems from the astronomical cost of medical school. Over 75% of medical students graduate with well over $100,000 of debt. The only thing that makes this cost a valid investment for many students is the fact that physician jobs salary are high enough to allow for repayment of those loans, but medical students and physicians alike worry about the effect that national healthcare reform will have on doctors’ salaries. Not only will salary reduction affect individual physicians trying to pay back medical school debt, but it is also likely to discourage future would-be physicians from making such an investment in the first place, leading to an even greater shortage of physicians.

Still, many medical students are optimistic about healthcare reform – if it is done right. One current student addresses the public’s fear of socialized medicine by saying that these fears have, ironically enough, “been realized in our privatized system […], with insurance companies and HMO’s dictating the care that can be provided and who can provide it.”

Medical student supporters of healthcare reform, including the American Medical Student Association, have a number of criteria and suggestions for a successful healthcare proposal, including:

• Coverage for all must actually mean coverage for all.  In order for healthcare reform to work, all patients should have access to all doctors, and no discrimination should exist against the elderly or against those with pre-existing health conditions.
• Transparency and accountability are necessities.  Insurance companies must be held accountable for their increasing costs.  Beyond that, insurance companies must not be allowed to deny claims for provider-prescribed care.
• There must be a greater focus on preventative care and cost-effective health care maintenance.  Great Britain, for example, rewards primary care physicians who maintain the health of their patients and who effect positive health changes in their patients (quitting smoking, eating healthier, starting a workout regimen, etc.).
• Incentives should be developed to encourage medical students to pursue primary care, rather than a more specialized field.  With the influx of patients expected from increased health insurance coverage, PCP’s will be in high demand.  Scholarships and loan repayment programs for medical students intending to focus on primary care will lessen the need to go into a high paying sub-specialty in order to pay back debt.

Related Topics:

Get Medical Students RSS News Feed

USA’s Medical Students To Lobby For Innovative Health Care Bill

Watch recent videos on the Healthcare Reform Bill

Healthcare Reform Debate Heats Up

Author Healthcare Career Blogger | 29.07.2009 | Category Healthcare Career Blog, Physicians, Surveys, healthcare reform

While Congress, the President and the special interest groups duke it out on Capitol Hill, millions of voters (and healthcare consumers) anxiously look on. Physicians have a particular interest in how the healthcare debate turns out, with its implications for patient care, quality of professional and personal life, not to mention the inevitable bureaucratic changes. It’s a complicated issue, but if you had to tell us where you stand in twenty words or less, what would you say?